Gag order eased for acquitted defendant

Judge gives him right to criticize deportation effort

January 29, 2008|By Vanessa Blum Staff Writer

Responding to challenges from defense lawyers, a Miami federal judge relaxed a gag order Monday to allow a man jurors found not guilty of terrorism to criticize the government for trying to deport him.

In a turnaround from previous rulings, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard cleared Lyglenson Lemorin, 33, a legal U.S. resident, and his attorneys to speak publicly about his immigration case, satisfying some of the First Amendment concerns raised by free speech advocates.

However, Lenard said Lemorin cannot discuss his trial, the verdict or his views about the government's first prosecution in the so-called Liberty Seven case. The trial ended Dec. 13 with his acquittal and jurors unable to reach verdicts for six other men. Jury selection for a retrial began Jan. 22.

Lawyers for Lemorin said they disagree with the ruling's restrictions and plan to continue with an emergency appeal filed last week.

"If Lemorin wants to scream to the media and whoever else will listen that he was held for 19 months without a shred of evidence ... he ought to be entitled to do that," said attorney Scott Srebnick, one of the lawyers who opposed the gag order.

He said it would be nearly impossible to draw a line between Lemorin's criminal and immigration cases because authorities seek to deport Lemorin to his native Haiti based on the accusations rejected by jurors.

A federal grand jury in June 2006 indicted Lemorin and his former co-defendants, a group of struggling construction workers in their 20s and 30s, with trying to join forces with al-Qaida in terrorist attacks against the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI headquarters in Miami.

Lenard said it was necessary to limit Lemorin's speech because extensive publicity about the first trial has made it difficult to find unbiased jurors to retry the case. The amended gag order applies to the six remaining defendants, their attorneys, witnesses, investigators and others related to the case.

"The court has a duty to make sure the defendants are tried by a fair and impartial jury," Lenard said.

After the hearing, Lemorin's attorney, Joel DeFabio, made his first public statements since the jury's verdict. DeFabio described his client as "at a loss" about why he was not released after being found not guilty on all charges.

While Lemorin is now permitted to speak about his situation, reaching him at the immigration detention center in Lumpkin, Ga. could be difficult. Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said interview requests would be vetted by the Department of Homeland Security.

Vanessa Blum can be reached at vbblum@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4605.